Word: laird
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Secretary of State William Rogers, Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird, and Attorney-General John Mitchell will serve on the NSC. The President-elect is extremely close to Rogers and Mitchell, and he respects Laird. Mitchell and Rogers will help Nixon form his own thoughts, and Laird will press if he disagrees with them...
Despite his expert knowledge of the Pentagon, Laird is a frightening prospect. In 1962 he wrote a book about "the strategy gap" which tried to establish a philosophical basis for nuclear superiority. Two years later he wrote Goldwater's platform. More scathingly than most Congressmen, he condemned Robert McNamara for accepting nuclear balance as a goal of national security policy. Like Nixon, he is pragmatic enough to reverse his policy positions for political reasons. If Kissinger can convince Nixon of the dangers in the arms race which Republicans promised during the campaign, Laird would probably compromise...
...Laird--intelligent, partisan, combative, behind-the-scenes boss of the House Republicans--probably agrees with observers who expect him to be the most powerful man in the Cabinet. Besides serving on the defense subcommittee, Laird was ranking GOP member on the House Appropriations HEW-Labor subcommittee. His strong views on urban problems, plus his intimate knowledge of legislative procedures, will probably cause him to try to influence the Administration's domestic and Congressional strategies...
Even Moynihan might fit in too well with the Nixon team. Besides writng for Laird's recent collections of "Republican Papers" and calling for a liberal alliance with conservatives to preserve order, Moynihan cheers Republicans with his "decentralize the bureaurcay" and "make the lower class the working class" rhetoric...
With a homogeneous Cabinet sharing Nixon's outlook, the second-level officials will become even more important, especially in State, Labor, and Treasury. The clearest early indication of Laird's attitude at the Pentagon will be what type of man he names to replace Alain Enthoven, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Analysis, or whether the post is filled at all. The new Commissioner of Education can indicate what the Administration's attitude toward student protesters will be and its decision on the financial crisis of higher education Nixon's soft approach to civil rights enforcement might be hardened...